Task force offers Eagle Ford Shale advice

TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES
The sun raises on the horizon as a drill rig continues its work in the Eagle Ford Shale play near Interstate 37 and Highway 281 in September 2011. A task force released a report Tuesday detailing how nearby population center such as Corpus Christi can benefit from the shale.

Corpus Christi Caller-Times

CORPUS CHRISTI - An economic development task force published a report Tuesday offering recommendations for how San Antonio and other South Texas communities that don't sit directly atop the Eagle Ford Shale can positions themselves to benefit from it.

The report from the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation focused on education, workforce, transportation and small businesses.

The shale formation is a 400-mile-long, 50-mile-wide band of deeply buried oil and gas deposits about 65 miles northwest of Corpus Christi. Since 2009 it has emerged as one of the nation's top shale plays, setting off an economic boom in mostly rural areas that sit atop it and leaving them struggling to keep up with infrastructure, housing and workforce needs.

But it also spurred activity in surrounding population centers such as Corpus Christi and San Antonio.

"The oil and gas industry's exploration and extraction efforts require a greater level of support than can be directly provided by the communities which sit above the shale," the authors concluded.

The task force included industry, academic, civic and municipal leaders.

Among their recommendations:

Engage companies to work with school leaders to create educational pathways to oil and gas industry careers.

Update the image of a career in the Eagle Ford Shale, dispelling myths by marketing the story of high-wage, high-tech, challenging and secure jobs.

Pressure the state to expand rail to relieve damaging heavy truck traffic on area roads and highways and support legislative efforts to finance road improvements in the region.

Collaborate with Eagle Ford Shale companies to identify procurement requirements and create a central procurement site to make it easier for small businesses to offer goods and services to shale players.